Box Score
EUGENE, Ore. – NCU goalkeeper Nick Kratzke and Evergreen State goalie Christian Pettit grabbed five saves apiece and recorded dual shutouts as the teams played to a 0-0 tie in Cascade Collegiate Conference action on Wednesday evening at Mike Kelly Field.
The Geoducks held an 11-9 edge in shots with each taking five blasts on-frame. Travis Brown led Northwest Christian with four shot attempts while ESC had three each from Kevin Flavin and Corey Johnson. No player had more than one shot-on-goal in the game.
NCU Head Coach Brett Bentley said, “After our last game we addressed some things in practice and made some personnel changes that really helped us have success in keeping the ball out of the net.”
Each team had at least one near miss, getting strong opportunities to score. For the Geoducks it came in the fifth minute of the game when Johnson had a 25-yard strike bounce off the crossbar. Brown had the best look for NCU early in the second half when his wide-open 20-yarder sailed high.
Kratzke secured his second career shutout which ties him with two other previous NCU keepers for the career record. “We’ve been working on getting Nick’s communication level to be higher and more consistent,” said Bentley, “and tonight he did a tremendous job and we will continue to build off of that success.”
The Beacons (2-4-1, 0-2-1 CCC) will be back in action on Saturday when they play host to Northwest University. Evergreen State (1-4-1, 0-2-1) will next travel to face Corban University on Saturday.